Issue link: https://let.epubxp.com/i/149261
TRAINING saying, "the clothes make the man". Fuller has what he calls "The Duck Theory": "They want you to dress like a duck, talk like a duck, act like a duck, deal with ducks…and it's very easy, if you're not careful, to become a duck. It's an erosion of who you really were to begin with. No one really tells [officers] that's what's going to happen." At the height of his own identity battle—Charlie Fuller, son of an FBI agent and reared in a religious, middle-class environment, was up against the arrogant and dishonest Charles Dawson. He talks about the trying period in his book "The Art of Undercover: Techniques and Survival." His first undercover assignment in Polk County, Fla. (for which he volunteered) involved making purchases of illegal weapons as Charles Dawson. "I distinctly remember asking myself, 'Charles, are you sure you know what you're doing?' I also remember con- Charlie Fuller wrote the guide book "The Art of Undercover: Techniques and Survival." He currently presents undercover, surveillance and electronic surveillance training programs worldwide. sciously not answering myself because I absolutely did not know what I was doing," he writes. He describes his first few assignments as an intensely stressful point in his life when he was ridden with anxiety: "I lived deep undercover in Polk County for four months as Charles Dawson. I made just about every mistake an undercover agent could possibly make. I trusted a professional informant, lied to my supervisors, compromised my integrity—especially my morality, drank too much, condoned the use of marijuana and broke the law (misdemeanors only). In other words…I became the person I was role playing." He says the first thing supervisors tell officers going into undercover work is to "quit acting like a cop," in essence, reinforcing non-police behavior. "But when they come back into the office they say, 'Quit acting like a duck; you're a cop, act like one.' Most departments don't really like their undercover guys," he says. "They don't fit the…mould and stock | Pistol Grip | Forend | Mag tube | Follower RAVEN PACkAGE INCludEs: ¥ Six Position Adjustable Stock ¥ Soft Touch Padded Cheekrest ¥ Scorpion Razorback Recoil Pad ¥ Scorpion Recoil Grip ¥ Aluminum Integrated Heatshield ¥ Aluminum Magazine Tube ¥ Aluminum Magazine Tube Shroud ¥ Aluminum Magazine Follower ¥ Aluminum Magazine Tube Cap INFINItEly AdjustAblE ChEEkREst ¥ Infnitely Adjustable from the Zero Position to a Comfortable Height of View for any Receiver Mounted Optic ¥ Ergonomic Rear Dial for quick and easy Cheekrest adjustments NEW 2013 Circle 69 on Reader Service Card www.officer.com August 2013 Law Enforcement Technology 21